Opened his first drugstore in 1969. Now the Jean Coutu Group is one of North America's largest pharmacy chains. Bought into the Eckerd brand in 2004 when it purchased the chain's stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states for $2.4 billion. Just two years later announced it was selling its U.S. operations, including the Eckerd and Brooks brands, to Rite Aid, in a deal worth $3.4 billion in stock and cash. When the deal closes later this year, Jean Coutu Group will become Rite Aid's top shareholder. Coutu's son Michel will also became cochairman of the board at Rite Aid.